


Illuminated

by QuistanC



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst, Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright Spoilers, Gen, Inspired by a fanart I saw on tumblr. I will add a link to it once I find it again, just pure angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 11:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15142424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuistanC/pseuds/QuistanC
Summary: The war would soon be over. With Elise's and Corrin's combined effort, they could stop the senseless fighting between their siblings. Or so Leo hoped.





	Illuminated

Deep inside, Leo still felt both horrible and glad to have helped Corrin. Despite being a traitor, Corrin still was his older brother and after all, he was the only one who loved to dote on him. Besides, his intuition could not have been wrong if Elise also trusted him with all of her being, even if Leo had to comfort her when Corrin chose to side with the Hoshidans. Yet, as he returned his steed to the stables and met up with his retainers, Leo rushed towards the throne room to aid his oldest brother in battle or luckily prevent a fight that would ultimately lead to the death of one of his brothers.

Despite having just returned and still feeling sore from having had to fight his way through disobedient faceless who were still under Iago’s control, regardless of his death, the Nohrian prince rushed his retainers to quickly reach the throne room. Hopefully, Elise has been able to sway Xander from doing anything stupid as his oldest brother sometimes tended to do. There is a reason after all why he was considered the genius and not Xander. A smirk wandered onto his lips.

After Odin’s panting request to slow down, Leo stopped for a minute to let the still wounded dark mage catch up to him and Niles. Right, his friend has taken a sword to the leg for him and Niles. With an almost apologetic look, Leo spoke up. “You should rather rest than insist on following me anyway. You are still recovering and Elise did warn you not to put unnecessary strain on your leg. Otherwise the stitches might tear. _Again_.” At his harsh words, the dark mage visibly flinched. Leo gave a small sigh and tried to amend the blunt force of his words. “We are inside Castle Krakenburg. If there were traitors, the castle’s guards could come to my aid. I do not wish for you to unnecessarily hurt yourself for my sake, Odin.” Said mage looked at him with an unreadable look before shaking his head. “But my liege! How shall I live with myself if harm ever befell thee? I could not forgive my own failures and would have to ever live with knowing that I let thee down!” At his retainer’s dramatics, Leo fondly rolled his eyes.

Niles gave an annoyed sigh and moved to support the dark mage. “Yeah yeah, whatever you say Prince drama-queen. Now shall we go to assist Lord Xan---“ Niles’s speech was interrupted by a shrill scream and the three men were alarmed. Leo rushed forward, sprinting towards the location of the scream. His heart was pounding as he pushed his tired body to go faster, _faster_. However, it was not the throne room where the scream was from. Instead, he found himself in the ball room. With gasping breath, the dark knight pushed open the doors as he heard the pounding of his retainer’s feet.

His blood froze at the sight in front of him. An entire army _slaughtered_. Leo feared the worst as he walked further into the room. He saw a few familiar faces lying on the ground, but there were two bodies which caused his whole world to stop instantly. “No…” He whispered as he felt his energy being drained from his body and ultimately his knee hitting the ground. In front of him laid the corpse of his precious baby sister. “No, by the gods, Elise!” As he gripped her cold body in his arms, he felt warm liquid stream down his face. Leo was crying. He hasn’t cried in years.

As if his eyes suddenly opened, he saw the whole extent of the slaughter that must have happened here. His eyes wandered around the room, seeing the mangled bodies of Nohrian soldiers, his retainer Odin clutching the corpse of his brother’s retainer in his arms as he sobbed into his cold shoulder, and lastly, he saw his brother’s own corpse slumped against the wall. _Xander_.

Only when Niles touched his shoulder to pull him into a warm chest did the Nohrian prince realize that his throat was burning, that his eyes felt irritated and once his head was nestled in the tunic of Niles did Leo realize that the room was suddenly quiet when before there has been a terrible shrieking. _He_ has been screaming.

For now, the Ice Prince of Nohr let himself be comforted by his retainer’s warm touch as he let out all the shock at having found this slaughter. Later tonight, Leo noted with a saddened mind, he should talk to Odin about his connection to Laslow.  
It felt like hours when he finally pushed Niles away from him and stood with Elise in his arms, cradled bridal style to his plated chest. His legs felt stiff and burned once he forced them to move forward. There were fighting noises in the throne room, but Leo couldn’t care less, not when his whole world had just been destroyed.

Almost sluggishly, the Nohrian prince made his way to Elise’s room where he would keep until they were allowed to bury her. 

“L-Leo?” The woman who spoke his name sounded to be in disbelief as he slowly turned to his older sister, now Crown princess apparently, but refused to meet her gaze. “Is that E-Elise? What happened?” Leo just kept his head lowered and gripped his sister’s dead body closer to himself. “I don’t know…” When Camilla embraced him, it was obvious that he had started crying again, but this time, he felt oddly numb to it all.  
“Where is Xander?” Before Leo was able to muster up a response, Niles spoke up for him and for some reason, he was eternally grateful for it. “Lord Xander did not survive the encounter with that Hoshidan traitor.” He could feel Camilla starting to cry as well as his bangs and forehead began to steadily become wet as well. However, unlike him, she did not break down. 

When he noticed the strength in his arms leaving him, Leo pressed on to bring Elise to her bedroom where he would put her to bed one last time for eternal rest. “May the afterworld be kind to you, little sister,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

As he stood up and returned to Camilla, he decided on not telling about the wounds that led to Elise’s ultimate demise resembling the shape of a hit from Siegfried. This was the last secret he was going to share with his little sister.


End file.
